Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Monocots: Commelinids: Arecales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Sabal palmetto
FAMILY
Arecaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
You may also want to check Trees, Shrubs, and Woody Vines of North Carolina
A small to medium evergreen tree, with large fan-shaped leaves. Learn more at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
Curtis (1883) reports that "Cape Hatteras is, or was, the northern limit of this Palm… It is to be deeply regretted, however, that a reckless indifference to the future, which has been charged as a characteristic of Americans, is likely to efface, at no very distant time, every vestige of this interesting ornament of our coast. The inner portion of the young plant is very tender and palatable, somewhat resembling the Artichoke and Cabbage in taste (hence its name of Cabbage Tree), and is often taken for pickling, and the stock is ruined by the process. Thus for a pound or two of pickles, no better either than many other kinds, the growth of half a century is destroyed in a moment, and posterity left to the wretched inheritance of vain mourning for the loss of the greatest beauty of our maritime forest." Quoted in Weakley's Flora (2022)
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Sabal palmetto
FAMILY
Arecaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America
Sabal palmetto
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 031-02-002:
Sabal palmetto FAMILY Arecaceae
INCLUDING Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Sabal jamesiana
INCLUDED WITHIN Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Sabal palmetto
COMMON NAME:
Cabbage Palmetto
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
Trees You Want to Know (Peattie, 1934); illustration by F.A. Michaux dcp34_p19
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Manual of the Trees of North America (Exclusive of Mexico) (Sargent, 1905) mtna_i_134
)
JK Marlow jkm200229_2912
February Georgetown County SC
Morgan Park
Trunk generally of uniform diameter from base to summit, constant with age, per Trees of the Southeastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1988).
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JK Marlow jkm0303a_23
March Beaufort County SC
Hunting Island State Park
)
JK Marlow jkm0303b_01
March Beaufort County SC
Hunting Island State Park
)
JK Marlow jkm0303b_03
March Beaufort County SC
Hunting Island State Park
)
JK Marlow jkm0303b_07
March Beaufort County SC
Hunting Island State Park
Branchless palm tree to 65' tall, per Guide to the Wildflowers of SC (Porcher & Rayner, 2001).
)
JK Marlow jkm0303e_12
March Beaufort County SC
Hunting Island State Park
Leaf segments filamentous on margin and usually at tip, per Trees of the Southeastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1988).
COMPARE
Palm and Palmetto species
)
JK Marlow jkm0303e_19
March Beaufort County SC
Hunting Island State Park
Leaves have a prominent arching midrib, per Trees of the Southeastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1988).
)
JK Marlow jkm0303f_21
March Beaufort County SC
Hunting Island State Park
Lower trunk somewhat smooth, but numerous leaf bases still clinging close to the crown, per Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
)
JK Marlow jkm090514_042
May
)
JK Marlow jkm170520_971
May Calhoun County SC
In cultivation
Fruits shiny, black, dry, 6-12mm in diameter, with one brown seed, per Trees of the Southeastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1988).
)
JK Marlow jkm170520_977
May Calhoun County SC
In cultivation
)
JK Marlow jkm170520_978
May Calhoun County SC
In cultivation
Flowers [and furit] in large, much-branched, drooping clusters, per Trees of the Southeastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1988).
)
Stephanie C. Brundage scb_061221charleston26
June Charleston County SC
Isle of Palms
)
Keith Bradley kab_sabal_palmetto_72400
July Miami-Dade County FL
)
Keith Bradley kab_sabal_palmetto_79831
September Highlands County FL
Kissimmee Prairie State Park
)
Sonny Eppes cwe_beachsun15lr
November Charleston County SC
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Sabal palmetto
FAMILY
Arecaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Sabal palmetto
FAMILY
Arecaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America
Sabal palmetto
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 031-02-002:
Sabal palmetto
FAMILY
Arecaceae
INCLUDING
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Sabal jamesiana
INCLUDED WITHIN
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Sabal palmetto
1291
Tree
Perennial
Habitat: maritime forests, marsh edges, and other near-coastal communities, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common in Coastal Plain (rare in NC)
Click here to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
Click here to see a map showing all occurrences known to SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria. (Zoom in to see more detail.)
LEAVES:
Evergreen
Compound: strongly costapalmate
FLOWER:
Summer
Bisexual
Radially symmetrical
3 sepals
3 petals
Superior ovary
FRUIT:
Fall
Drupe
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Forest Plants of the Southeast and Their Wildlife Uses (Miller & Miller, 2005) p396
- Gardening with Native Plants of the South (Wasowski & Wasowski, 1994, 2020) p040
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC (Porcher & Rayner, 2001) p356
- Identifying Trees: An All-Season Guide to Eastern North America (Williams, 2007) p322
- Landscaping with Native Trees (Sternberg & Wilson, 1995) p228
- Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007) p084
- Trees of the Southeastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1988) p049
- Wildflowers of the Carolina Lowcountry (Porcher, 1995) p087
- Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004) p310